What DC Should Do If Ben Affleck Walks Away From Batman

Although the solo Batman movie appears to have once again traction under director Matt Reeves, the future of the character in the DCEU doesn't seem entirely clear. Following Ben Affleck dropping out as the director of his own solo movie, rumors began to surface that the actor may have a genuine interest in simply walking away from the character altogether. In the face of the backlash that Batman v Superman suffered last year, as well as the constant waves of negativity that have been leveled at the DC films, this sadly doesn't seem like the most outlandish possibility.

While Ben Affleck walking away from Batman is not a guarantee yet, we must (in the true spirit of Batman) prepare for anything. With that in mind, we have put together a sequence of events that must occur if Affleck decides to hang up his cape and cowl at some point in the near future. This is a process that will ultimately take years for DC and Warner Bros. to accomplish, and it starts with doing something that no live-action film has ever dared to do with Bruce Wayne.

Kill Bruce Wayne

First and foremost, if Ben Affleck decides to walk away from the Batman role, then Warner Bros. And DC should strongly consider taking his character off of the table for the time being. There's ample precedent in the comics for killing Batman in grand fashion, and Batfleck's admiration of Superman's sacrifice at the end of Dawn of Justice would make for some beautiful symmetry if he similarly gives up his own life. There's a simple reason for this: if they recast Ben Affleck and immediately jump into a new Batman, the shadow of Affleck will hang over the role for years to come. We need some time to breath in between Batmen, and killing Batfleck is the way to make that work. No movie has ever killed Bruce Wayne, and now may be the time to give it a shot.